Detroit Lions Week 16 Review: The Good and the Bad
By Alex Reno
Final. 14. 57. 20. 50
Prior to the start of today’s game between the Detroit Lions and the Chicago Bears, FOX dedicated an entire segment to Matthew Stafford and his sudden prowess as a quarterback who doesn’t turn the ball over. In his last three games, Stafford had thrown six touchdowns and zero interceptions.
In the first half of today’s game alone, Stafford threw two interceptions straight to Bears defenders. It was yet another ugly start for the Lions, this time on all phases as they went into the locker room tied 7-7 on the road at Soldier Field.
Joique Bell and Reggie Bush came up huge for the Lions and combined for 185 total yards on the day.
Once again, it took some fourth quarter magic for Detroit to pull off a victory. The Lions have won some ugly games lately, but an ugly win is still a win.
Let’s take a closer look at the good and bad takeaways from today’s game.
Dec 21, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Detroit Lions running back Reggie Bush (21) dives for a touchdown during the first quarter against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
The Good
Reggie Bush
I have been pretty harsh with Bush this year, but I have to give credit where credit is due. Reggie Bush had a solid game for the Lions today. With Joique Bell sidelined for much of the first half, Bush took over and busted out for a couple of huge plays early in the game.
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When healthy, Bush brings a lot more to this team as a receiver out of the backfield. Today, he caught all six passes thrown his way for 44 yards receiving.
Bush still has the tendency of bouncing most of his runs to the outside and dancing in the backfield, but I guess you can get away with that against a porous defense like the Bears’.
The Closers
What do I mean by “the closers?”
Well, the Lions have certainly had a couple of players establish themselves as late-game closers. On offense, that man is Joique Bell.
Bell plays at a whole different level when asked to close out a game. You can only assume that he’s a master at Mortal Kombat and knows how to pull off every fatality when asked to “FINISH HIM!”
Bell was sidelined for the first quarter of the game after breaking a team rule, but ended up brushing it off and finished with 74 yards on 13 carries and a touchdown.
On defense, there is no one that makes bigger plays than Glover Quin who now has an interception in each of his last four games. Today’s interception came on a huge fourth down for the Bears who were trailing by six points.
And that’s not the first time Quin came up huge and aided a Lions victory. He had a similar interception versus Drew Brees and the Saints halfway through the year that set up a game-winning drive for the Lions.
Honorable Mentions:
Golden Tate, Calvin Johnson, Rashean Mathis, Ndamukong Suh, Darius Slay, 5-0 in the division